“It seems to have found man’chi,” Antaro said.
If it was true, it was a very good thing. But he was standing there covered in egg-spatter, and having been laughed at by his fathercand warned to be invisible, and smarter than Boji.
But his father had, however, let him keep Boji. And tonight instead of being reprimanded, he had to go represent his father and mother at mani’s table.
He worked his hand in Boji’s fur, which Boji liked. And Boji chattered, but a very quiet chatter, sounding happier, at least.
“He is probably quite hungry,” he said. “He broke his egg. Find him another, nadiin-ji, and tell the servants we need the rug and the chair cleaned, and I shall have a bath. We have formal dinner with mani tonight. Be warned it will be adults.”
He did not recall really seeing his father laugh like that, except now and again with nand’ Bren, and nand’ Bren would laugh, too, about things he had never understood. So maybe it was not such a bad thing that his father laughed this time.
And if he looked in a mirror he might find he really deserved it.
There was a mirror in his bedroom. He went back and stood in front of it, and there he was, a little spattered, not too bad, and his coat not too bad. He had certainly looked a lot worse. It was by no means as bad as the concrete driveway. He had Boji in the crook of his arm, the leash in his hand, and Boji had curled up into a fairly compact ball, quite content for the while, and not looking too silly.
He really did not look the fool. Just a little messy. He decided his father had not been laughing at him. Rather, his father had been amused about the plot and maybe not even unhappy with him, since he had gotten along with the new tutor. His father was not always easy to figure out.
Boji untucked and ran out on his arm as if it were the limb of a tree, staring at the mirror, and bristling up and chattering at it in no welcoming way.
“Silly creature,” he said, and gathered Boji back to him, Boji still protesting, crawling over his shoulder and trying to see the other parid’ja.
Boji then decided to try to clean the spots of egg off the side of his face, licking it off with a little black tongue. It was rough and efficient, but Boji forgot about that when Lucasi brought another egg from their hiding place. He was all attentive, and when Cajeiri gave it to him, he held onto it very nicely and made a neat little hole in it and began eating it while sitting on Cajeiri’s arm, pausing to lick his lips.
Boji had gotten much quieter, then, when Eisi and Lieidi came in to find out the damage.
Boji held onto his egg and tucked tight into the crook of Cajeiri’s arm. Cajeiri found himself still being Boji’s tree—now a safe nook in a branch—but Antaro was right: Instead of running away, Boji was clinging close to him, holding onto his coat with strong little hands.
It was different than a mechieta, which was certainly not going to tuck into the crook of one’s arm, but some few of which, so he had heard, might take to following one about.
He had, from being the heir of the aishidi’tat, become Boji’s tree, that was what.
And mani was back on the ground in Shejidan.
And his father let him keep Boji andhis birthday party. And his father, seeming in a good humor, knew about parid’ji, and knew what kind of creatures they were, and thought it funny, perhaps, that he was going to have that experience, which was probably not going to be easy.
It was all right, then, that his father had laughed.
He remembered how he had looked in the mirror and decided he really had looked somewhat funny.
He just preferred not to look funny when he showed up at mani’s apartment tonight.
12
Lord Geigi made it into the Bujavid half an hour after Ilisidi made it upstairs with her two elevator-loads of staff.
And, somewhat out of breath, Lord Geigi turned up at Bren’s apartment door, with only his bodyguard and a small set of baggage beside the wardrobe crate—particularly greeting the staff as well as Bren, who came from his office to meet him there. “Narani-nadi, Jeladi-nadi, such an additional pleasure! Thank you, thank you, nandi, for putting up with me! One will miss so your company, and one will miss your hospitality, Rani-ji, my neighbor on the station. Nand’ Bren, your staff on station has been so solicitous of me and so closely associated to my staff—they have been my associates, too, my consolation and advice, on whom I have not hesitated to rely in the darkest of times. One was so glad to be invited here, for an opportunity to bid them a proper farewell—so, so delighted to see all of you and to have another of Bindanda’s dinners—what an unanticipated treat! I shall personally mourn your departure from the station. Nand’ Bren, my esteemed associate, you must send others of your staff up to the station, and where my staff is of any avail in special training, we will be beside ourselves with delight.”
“One has grandnephews,” Narani volunteered, “at Najida, growing far too idle, one supposes—as they never shall here in the Bujavid.”
“One would rejoice,” Bren said, “to send more staff up, if you are willing to recommend, Rani-ji. Knowing they would have a contribution to make to Lord Geigi’s staff, one would not hesitate to restaff the premises. Nor would I take it amiss if any Najida youngsters felt man’chi drawing them toward my esteemed neighbor—what are we, if not two eggs in the same shell, nand’ Geigi at Kajiminda and myself at Najida? I would support them without hesitation. But warn them to guard their feelings and be advised—he is the most attractive of lords, but his service is not for those with ties to the earth.”
“You are so good, neighbor of mine! Ah, I had looked forward to a stay in a hotel, an outlying one at best, and this is beyond expectation.”
“You come with so little baggage, Geigi-ji! One recalls you had far more!”
“Destined for the spaceport,” Geigi said. “One has given it over to the baggage office, and they will send it over to the space agency, to be gone through and packed. It is such a relief, Bren-ji. I have left my valets at Kajiminda, to come on a later shuttle. I am destitute of assistance, besides the loyalty of my aishid. One had no wish to impose on your gracious hospitality, and one has absolutely no need of too many things, if one may rely on your staff for wardrobe care.”
“Of course they will be pleased to do it! Avail yourself of all we have, Geigi-ji. There is, you are well aware, dinner at the formal hour, and likely the dowager’s staff has been working since yesterday.”
“I shall be ready within the hour,” Lord Geigi said.
“Please. Join me for a cocktail in the sitting room, and then we shall go together.”
“Honored,” Geigi said, bowed, and went off to take possession of the guest quarters, a most auspicious first guest in the premises, while Bren hurried to use the bath in time to let staff have it pristine again for Lord Geigic
The bath, the dress—the most formal of court clothes. There was, fortunately, ample time for Geigi to dress for dinner, and most of an hour left to sit for a preliminary cocktail in the sitting room, going over the latest news from Kajiminda—construction on the Edi center had started, at least as far as staking out the site, pending approval in the legislature.
The rebuilding at Najida had gotten as far as the roof, which had to be the most urgent matter—getting the difficult part done before another torrential rain; and, Geigi relayed from Ramoso, Bren’s major d’ at Najida, the news that the architect would send plans based on Bren’s sketch of what he wanted.